Wild-edible dominoes - and A CHALLENGE for YOU!

There are some good points in there. Though we're in decent shape down here in the south, edible-wise, it would still take some serious searching to get all you needed off wild lands and not end up going Donner. And animal sources of food - like deer - are some of the best you can get. Living on boiled thistle leaves won't sustain you for long. That said... deer, rabbits, squirrels, etc., would probably disappear quickly in a full-on crisis situation - hence, knowing edible insects and roots is a good idea.

Delicious woodland!

Note: I wouldn't eat that black and red-orange locust pictured by Gadrens-in-the-sand. They're toxic:"Adults of eastern lubber grasshoppers possess a variety of abilities to
defend themselves. Their bright color pattern is a warning to
predators that the lubber contains toxic substances. Indeed, there are
several records attributing the demise of individual birds failure to
exercise caution when selecting prey items. Also, small mammals such as
opossums have been known to vomit violently after ingesting a lubber,
and to remain ill for several hours. However, shrikes are reported to
catch and kill lubbers."(more on lubbers)

I believe all other locusts down here are edible, though. I've eaten wild grasshoppers... just never the lubbers. I do like the paper wasp eating idea. Hmm...

Anyhow - that aside - I think doing "wild edible" photo tours is a great idea! So thank you, Gardens-in-the-sand, for inspiring...

THE CHALLENGE!!!

If anyone posts a "Wild Edible Walk" on their site, let me know and I'll link to it. Share your pictures and thoughts! Did you try something that was awful? Did you make a salad from Spanish Moss? Got a recipe for whitegrub fritters? Put it in there! (Just try not to poison yourself or your readers.)

4 Comments:

I'm pretty leery of doing that. Mainly because of my great ignorance. But also because of wondering about the long lasting effects of having sprayed Round-up on my driveway for years. I've got lots of dandelions, and my mother used to fix those, so I would be fine with eating them, but has water run-off from my driveway leached into them?

Interesting question. Officially, Round-Up breaks down rapidly in the soil. Unofficially, there are varying studies and arguments over its long-term toxicity.

I would eat the dandelions further from the driveway and avoid the ones right next to it.

As for being leery over wild edibles... it's always good to stick with what you know first, then move on. So... dandelions, blackberries and wild strawberries might be a good starting point. Then learn to ID violets... and when you're sure of those, eat away... then on to other stuff, one bit at a time. Having solid guides is a big help, too.

Thanks... I've added a notation re the black n reds,,,Kind of a shame... those guise get large enough to carve steaks...In fact, one of those black n reds wouldn't look out of place on Fred Flinstone's dinner plate.